MINE ACTION: HUMANITARIAN IMPACT, TECHNICAL ASPECTS, AND GLOBAL INITIATIVES Table of Contents Letter of Foreword ........................................................................................................... v Format of Study .............................................................................................................. vi Method of Study .............................................................................................................vii
LESSON 1: THE GLOBAL LANDMINE PROBLEM AND UNITED NATIONS RESPONSE ........................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Global Overview 1.2 Mine Action and Effective Coordination: The United Nations Policy End-of-Lesson Quiz
LESSON 2: THE ANTI-PERSONNEL MINE BAN TREATY .......................................... 29 2.1 Mine Action Guidelines for Ceasefire and Peace Agreements 2.2 The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty (Ottawa Convention) (MBT) 2.3 Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) Amended Protocol II 2.4 Case Studies End-of-Lesson Quiz
LESSON 3: LANDMINE AND UXO SAFETY TRAINING .............................................. 67 3.1 Introduction to Landmine and UXO Safety Training 3.2 Basic Safety Principles in Mine- and UXO-Affected Environments 3.3 Identifying Landmines and Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) 3.4 Recognising Dangerous Areas 3.5 Emergency Procedures in a Mine Field 3.6 Assisting a Mine/UXO Victim 3.7 Country-Specific Leaflets End-of-Lesson Quiz
LESSON 4: INTERNATIONAL MINE ACTION STANDARDS (IMAS)......................... 107 4.1 Guide for the Application of International Mine Action Standards 4.2 Clearance Requirements End-of-Lesson Quiz
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LESSON 5: VICTIM ASSISTANCE ............................................................................. 133 5.1 Introduction to Victim Assistance 5.2 Victim Assistance Policy Document End-of-Lesson Quiz
LESSON 6: MINE RISK EDUCATION......................................................................... 155 6.1 Introduction to Mine Risk Education 6.2 UNICEF Mine Action Strategy 2002-2005 End-of-Lesson Quiz
LESSON 7: MINE INFORMATION…………………………………………………………185 7.1 General Mine Action Assessment 7.2 LIS Advisory 3—Survey Overview 7.3 The Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) 7.4 The Electronic Mine Information Network (E-MINE) End-of-Lesson Quiz
APPENDIX A: Glossary............................................................................................... 219 APPENDIX B: Internet Links ....................................................................................... 241 APPENDIX C: Use of Route Cards ............................................................................. 243 APPENDIX D: Safety Video Script .............................................................................. 245 APPENDIX E: Report of the Secretary-General .......................................................... 251 APPENDIX F: List of Ottawa Convention Signatories and States-Parties…………..…260 APPENDIX G: List of CCW Countries………………………………………………….…..264
Copyright Acknowledgments ....................................................................................... 270 End-of-Course Examination Instructions ..................................................................... 271
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Peace Operations Training Institute Dear Student: I am pleased that you have enrolled in the Peace Operations Training Institute distance course Mine Action: Humanitarian Impact, Technical Aspects, and Global Initiatives. This course has been made possible through the significant contributions of Mr. Martin Donoghue, of the UN Mine Action Service, Mr. Adrian Wilkinson, of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, and other key personnel from these two organisations. In this course the student will be introduced to the global problem of landmines and how international organisations are approaching the problem. The topics to be studied here include The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty (Ottawa MBT); mine action guidelines for ceasefires and peace agreements; landmine and UXO safety training; identifying landmines and UXOs; International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) and guidelines for application; victim assistance; mine risk education; UNICEF’s mine action strategy; mine information; mine action assessment; and the electronic mine action network. The global problem of landmines has received considerable attention in the press and in public awareness. This attention is deserved because of the nature of the problem. Landmines are indiscriminate killers. When they are left behind in the soil following a conflict they remain a threat to humanitarian workers, civilians, and all who toil to bring a nation out of war and back to self-sufficiency. Fields cannot be tilled, roads cannot be traveled, and crops cannot be brought to market until mines have been cleared. Often it is children and the poor who encounter mines while they go about their innocent lives. The explosions maim their lower extremities. Even when the hostilities of war are long past these devices represent a lingering cruelty and an obstacle to recovery. It is this problem and this cruelty that the authors of this course and others seek to confront. By studying the lessons of this course the student will see what measures organizations and the international community are taking. And the student will also learn what contributions remain to be made.
Harvey J. Langholtz
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FORMAT OF STUDY This course is designed for independent study at a pace determined by the student.
Course format and materials permit: • MODULAR STUDY • EASE OF REVIEW • INCREMENTAL LEARNING
STUDENT’S RESPONSIBILITY The student is responsible for: • • •
Learning course material Completing the End-of-Course Examination Submitting the End-of-Course Examination
Please consult your enrolment confirmation email or the end of this course for examination submission instructions.
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METHOD OF STUDY The following are suggestions for how to proceed with this course. Though the student may have alternate approaches that are effective, the following hints have worked for many. •
Before you begin actual studies, first browse through the overall course material. Notice the lesson outlines, which give you an idea of what will be involved as you proceed.
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The material should be logical and straightforward. Instead of memorizing individual details, strive to understand concepts and overall perspectives in regard to the United Nations system.
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Set up guidelines regarding how you want to schedule your time.
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Study the lesson content and the learning objectives. At the beginning of each lesson, orient yourself to the main points. If you are able to, read the material twice to ensure maximum understanding and retention, and let time elapse between readings.
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When you finish a lesson, take the End-of-Lesson Quiz. For any error, go back to the lesson section and re-read it. Before you go on, be aware of the discrepancy in your understanding that led to the error.
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After you complete all of the lessons, take time to review the main points of each lesson. Then, while the material is fresh in your mind, take the End-ofCourse Examination in one sitting.
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Your exam will be scored, and if you achieve a passing grade of 75 percent or higher, you will be awarded a Certificate of Completion. If you score below 75 percent, you will be given one opportunity to take a second version of the End-of-Course Examination.
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One note about spelling is in order. This course was written in English as it is used in the United Kingdom.
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LESSON 1 THE GLOBAL LANDMINE PROBLEM AND UNITED NATIONS RESPONSE Section 1.1: Global Overview Section 1.2: Mine Action and Effective Coordination: The United Nations Policy End-of-Lesson Quiz
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Lesson 1 Objectives Section 1.1: Global Overview This section introduces the student to the general overview, history, and global impact of landmines and UXO. It discusses the world’s current landmine and UXO problems and what efforts are being taken to address these problems. It focuses on the ways in which landmines hinder development in communities, disrupt everyday life, and affect civilians. After studying this section, the student should: Discuss the general history of landmines: why they were originally developed, how they have been used throughout history, and how their impact has changed with advances in technology; Identify global locations with landmine and UXO problems and programmes; Understand why attention to global landmine/UXO problems is vital. Section 1.2: Mine Action and Effective Coordination: The United Nations Policy This section introduces the student to the original text of a policy document submitted by the Secretary-General to the fifty-third session of the General Assembly as part of his report on assistance in mine clearance (A/53/496) dated 14 October 1998. After studying this section, the student should: Be familiar with the primary text of Mine Action and Effective Coordination: The United Nations Policy (A/53/496); Understand the meaning of the term “mine action” and be able to identify the five main components of UN mine action; Be aware of the guiding principles for mine action: (1) the scope and nature of the landmine problem; (2) the principles for UN assistance; (3) the notion of integrated and sustainable mine action; (4) the requirement for effective coordination; (5) the initiation and development of mine action programmes in the field; (6) the requirement for prioritisation and accountability; Appreciate the responsibilities and coordination mechanisms of and among UN partners, like-minded partners, and liaison groups; Recall the types of resources, both financial contributions and in-kind donations (material, equipment, personnel, and services), needed to support mine action and how these resources are monitored and reported.
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Section 1.1 Global Overview1 “From my experience in peacekeeping, I have seen first-hand the literally crippling effects of landmines and unexploded ordnance on people and communities alike. Not only do these abominable weapons lie buried in silence and in their millions, waiting to kill or maim innocent women and children; but the presence – or even the fear of the presence – of a single landmine can prevent the cultivation of an entire field, rob a whole village of its livelihood, place yet another obstacle on a country’s road to reconstruction and development.” -United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, April 1999 OVERVIEW Landmines were originally developed for military use, but they have had a profound and long-lasting impact on ordinary people and their communities. Long after conflicts end, the presence of mines and other unexploded ordnance (UXO) continues to kill and maim, often making it impossible for refugees and internally displaced people to return to their homes, and prolonging suffering for everybody in the affected areas.
Signs are used to mark dangerous landmine and unexploded ordnance contaminated areas.
During several recent conflicts, landmines have been deliberately used to target civilian populations. As a result, mines may be found in places of little or no military value, such as schools or agricultural fields. For individuals and communities alike, many of whom are already living in poverty and insecurity, the impact of landmines is not simply 1
Portions of this section are drawn from Landmines: The World Takes Action, a CD-ROM produced by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and available from UNMAS upon request.
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physical, it is also psychological, social, and economic. Long after conflicts have ended, the legacy of landmines remains, but the problem is being addressed and the threat is lessening. Globally coordinated programmes designed to tackle the threat of landmine and UXO contamination, and the impact of these explosive weapons, are continuing to grow and develop as we enter the 21st century. HISTORY OF LANDMINES Landmines have had a long history, dating back to the Greek and Roman empires. However, it is during the Second World War that antipersonnel and antitank landmines started to be widely used. They were then used for defensive and tactical purposes, to achieve military objectives. Troops typically mapped the location of the minefields for future clearance, even though many of the mines laid were not immediately cleared. In many countries, a residual threat still exists from the Second World War.
Anti-personnel (AP) mine, obscured by leaves, shown with matchbox for scale. Mines left in the ground are very hard to locate and can remain active for decades.
Advances in technology in the 1960s made it possible to scatter mines mechanically rather than planting them by hand. This meant that hundreds of landmines could be deployed at the same time using aircraft, rockets or artillery. While a troop of 30 men
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could lay approximately 50 mines per hour, one remote delivery system could scatter over 200 mines at the same time. During the Vietnam War, vast areas of land in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were completely saturated with mines using these delivery systems. As conflicts became more brutal, the effect of landmines was no longer strictly limited to military targets. In the 1980s, mines proliferated as the weapon of choice in many internal conflicts. The low cost of antipersonnel mines made them particularly appealing to guerrilla and military forces in developing countries. The production of smaller and more sophisticated landmines and the development of homemade devices caused their prolific use. Plastic mines, which cannot be identified with metal detectors, also became common. Civilians became targets because antipersonnel landmines were used intentionally to harass and terrorise them, forcing them to leave their homes and blocking access to important infrastructure like water and electricity. These factors, but most of all the indiscriminate use of landmines, led to a global crisis. In 1992, six humanitarian organisations joined together to create the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). From their work in mine affected countries they had seen first-hand the horrendous toll landmines take on innocent people in countries where conflict has already caused so much pain. The work of ICBL, which grew to a membership of more than 1400 non-governmental organisations, in partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the United Nations and governments worldwide, aims to bring the history of landmines to a close. The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), and its coordinator, Ms. Jody Williams, in 1997, drew worldwide attention to the problem of landmines. The Antipersonnel Mine Ban Convention entered into force the following year. In July 2002, more than two-thirds of the world’s countries were party to the Antipersonnel Mine Ban Convention, which bans the use, development, production, stockpiling and transfer of antipersonnel landmines (See Lesson 2). This may have given the impression that the landmine challenge has been met, and that the media and governments can start turning their attention to other problems. This is unfortunately not the case. Landmines affect over 60 of the world’s countries. Millions of landmines are still lying in the ground, and claim thousands of innocent victims every year. In several countries, landmines continue to be used as indiscriminate weapons of war. IMPACT OF LANDMINES AND UXO “When people no longer use the earth that was once theirs, it is because death and suffering have replaced life. The silence after the explosion of a landmine is still another kind of explosion; it is the silent explosion of hope and of freedom. Let us not let the future become one where landmines and unexploded ordnance continue to threaten the lives of innocent people. Let us not let another get injured or die because they come from a place far from our own. Let us not close our eyes and ears, because in speaking of mine action, it is the restoration of life and peace that we are talking about.” -Patrick Segal, Vice-President, Handicap-International 1995
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Years of war have left millions of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) scattered in more than 60 countries worldwide. In war and in peace civilians are their most common victims. Subsistence farmers, refugees and people displaced by war are most often affected. The world’s poor suffer the harshest consequences, facing danger every day to cultivate their fields, herd animals, and to collect firewood or even water. To survive daily, and access basic resources, they may be forced into dangerous mined areas. In many countries women and children are responsible for carrying out these tasks. Many landmine victims are unable to reach medical treatment in time, since access to appropriate care is limited in remote and impoverished areas.
Debris including unexploded ordnance (UXO) commonly pollutes communities following conflict. Civilians living in the region are most affected by these dangerous weapons.
The impact of landmines and UXO extends beyond individual accidents and casualties. Vast areas of former battlefields have created acute social, economic and environmental harm by denying access to productive areas for civilian use. Landmines and UXO impact negatively on development and obstruct post-conflict rebuilding, denying access to healthcare and education. Fertile agricultural land becomes useless. Mined irrigation systems and wells make it impossible to farm and maintain herds. Mined dams and electrical installations seriously reduce the ability of a nation to produce the power required for industry. Mined transportation systems interrupt the movement of people and the flow of goods and services throughout the country. Mined roads and the destruction of infrastructure make it difficult, and sometimes impossible, for humanitarian assistance to reach affected communities.
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Unless landmines and UXO are cleared, the lives of individuals, communities, and nations cannot return to normal. In most mine-affected countries, the institutional, technical and financial capacity does not exist to cope with the problem alone. Strong and centralised mechanisms are needed to promote cooperation and to gather and disseminate information available about the local landmine and UXO contamination to affected populations. The international community, including the United Nations and its nongovernmental partners, help countries clear mines and UXO, develop mine awareness programmes for affected countries (See Lesson 6), assist with victim assistance (See Lesson 5), destroy stockpiles, and advocate for a global ban on landmines (See Lesson 2). The goal of all these activities is to reduce the impact of the landmine and UXO problem on people, on their families, on their communities, and on their nations. Mine action is about making people feel safe again. It is about the human right to live free from the threat and impact of landmines.
Mine clearance and survey operations require the coordination of many organisations and individuals. Making mine and UXO-affected land safe for use is a long process requiring tedious and careful work by trained professionals.
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Landmine/UXO Problem in the World Today2 Africa
Americas
Asia-Pacific
Angola Burundi Chad Rep. Of Congo DR Congo Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Guinea-Bissau Kenya Liberia Malawi Mauritania Mozambique Namibia Niger Rwanda Senegal Sierra Leone Somalia Sudan Swaziland Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe Somaliland
Chile Colombia Costa Rica Cuba Ecuador El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Peru Falkland/Malvinas
Afghanistan Bangladesh Burma (Myanmar) Cambodia China India Korea, North Korea, South Laos Mongolia Nepal Pakistan Philippines Sri Lanka Thailand Vietnam Taiwan
Europe/Central Asia Albania Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Bosnia & Herz. Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Georgia Greece Hungary Kyrgyzstan Latvia Lithuania Macedonia FYR Moldova Poland Russia Tajikstan Turkey Ukraine Uzbekistan Yugoslavia Abkhazia Chechnya Kosovo NagornoKarabakh
Middle East/North Africa Algeria Egypt Iran Iraq Israel Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Morocco Oman Syria Tunisia Yemen Northern Iraq Palestine Western Sahara
As of 2002, landmines and UXO have been found in 90 countries worldwide, according to the Landmine Monitor Report. UNMAS, subject to political, diplomatic, and strategic restraints lists over 60 countries that are mine affected.
2
This table and the data contained therein are drawn from the Landmine Monitor Report 2002: Executive Summary, a publication of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, p. 24.
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Section 1.2 Mine Action and Effective Coordination: The United Nations Policy
OVERVIEW In October 1998, the Secretary-General of the United Nations submitted a mine action policy document to the General Assembly as part of his report on assistance in mine clearance (A/53/496). The mine action policy document, entitled Mine Action and Effective Coordination: The United Nations Policy introduces three complementary principles. First, it aims to foster the ability of the United Nations to support affected countries and populations in responding to the immediate and long-term problems posed by landmines. Second, it aims to foster the ability of the United Nations to support and build upon collective efforts of the international community at large. Third, it aims to strengthen the credibility of the United Nations in terms of transparency, accountability, and effectiveness.3 The policy document, which you will read in its entirety on the following pages, introduces the global landmine crisis and recognises that the United Nations has a central role in responding to this crisis. It discusses the nature of mine action and details the guiding principles for mine action, coordination, and development. It identifies the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) as the focal point within the UN for all mine-related activities. In addition, it lists the roles and responsibilities of other UN and like-minded partners in responding to the global landmine crisis. The intent in creating the policy document Mine Action and Effective Coordination: The United Nations Policy was to sum up the key principles on which UN mine action is based and to clarify roles and responsibilities within the United Nations system.4 On the following pages, you will have the opportunity to read the primary text of Mine Action and Effective Coordination: The United Nations Policy dated 14 October 1998 and submitted by the Secretary-General to the fifty-third session of the General Assembly as part of his report on assistance in mine clearance. Before you begin reading the document, take a moment to read the Resolution (A/53/26) from the General Assembly, adopted on 17 November 1998. This Resolution was a response from the General Assembly, welcoming the policy document Mine Action and Effective Coordination: The United Nations Policy.
3 4
See Mine Action and Effective Coordination: The United Nations Policy, Sec. II, 4. See Mine Action and Effective Coordination: The United Nations Policy, Sec. I, 3.
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RESOLUTION A/53/26 ON ASSISTANCE IN MINE ACTION adopted on 17 November 1998 The General Assembly,
Res/A/53/26
[…] 7. Emphasises again the important role of the United Nations in the effective coordination of mine-action activities, including those by regional organizations, and welcomes in this regard the policy on mine action and effective coordination developed by the Secretary-General in annex II to his report, which encapsulates the key principles on which United Nations mine action is based and clarifies roles and responsibilities within the United Nations system; 8. Encourages the Secretary-General to develop further a comprehensive mineaction strategy, taking into consideration the impact of the landmine problem on rehabilitation, reconstruction, and development, with a view to ensuring the effectiveness of assistance in mine action by the United Nations, and emphasizes in this respect the importance of further multisectoral assessments and surveys; 9. Welcomes the creation of the United Nations Mine Action Service within the department of Peacekeeping Operations, its designation as the focal point for mine action within the United Nations system, and its ongoing collaboration with and coordination of all mine-related activities of United Nations agencies, funds and programmes; 10. Urges Member States, regional organizations, governmental and nongovernmental organizations and foundations to continue to extend full assistance and cooperation to the Secretary-General and, in particular, to provide him with information and data as well as other appropriate resources that could be useful in strengthening the coordination role of the United Nations in mine action, particularly in mine awareness, training, surveying, mine detection and clearance, scientific research on mine-detection and mine-clearance technology, and assistance to victims, including information on and distribution of medical equipment and supplies; […] THE POLICY DOCUMENT: PRIMARY TEXT On the following pages, read and familiarise yourself with the primary text from Mine Action and Effective Coordination: The United Nations Policy (A/53/496). After reading this policy document, complete the End-of-Lesson quiz that follows.
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END-OF-LESSON QUIZ 1. Which of the following is NOT one of the main components of UN mine action? (A) Victim assistance, including rehabilitation and reintegration; (B) Governmental purchase of mine-infested lands; (C) Advocacy to stigmatise the use of landmines and support a total ban on antipersonnel landmines; (D) Mine awareness and risk reduction education. 2. The global landmine problem must be defined in terms of its: (A) Humanitarian, public health, and socio-economic implications; (B) Humanitarian, religious, and military implications; (C) Religious, public health, and military implications; (D) Socio-economic implications only. 3. UNMAS (United Nations Mine Action Service) is: (A) An organisation providing food and shelter to victims of landmines; (B) Concerned primarily with the post-conflict economic activities of a country; (C) The focal point within the UN system for all mine-related activities; (D) Based in educating high-ranking government officials on the proper use of landmines. 4. As of the 2002 reports, how many countries are affected by landmines and UXO? (A) Fewer than 30 (B) 30-40 (C) 40-50 (D) More than 60 5. Landmines and UXO are a danger: (A) During wartimes; (B) During peacetimes; (C) To children and adults; (D) All of the above. 6. Who has the primary responsibility for taking action against the presence of landmines? (A) The concerned state; (B) The international community; (C) Civilians living in affected regions; (D) None of the above.
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7. Landmines: (A) Keep communities safe after conflicts by providing geographical barriers to the outside world; (B) Remove vast areas of land and resources from productive use; (C) Indirectly assist in preparing agricultural fields for cultivation; (D) Create craters in the ground that are useful for holding water. 8. NGOs: (A) (B) (C) (D)
Often work in a mine/UXO affected area prior to UN involvement in the area; Are valuable sources of insight, advice, and operational capacity; Are important partners in the development of mine action programmes; All of the above.
9. According to the document Mine Action and Effective Coordination, which of the following will support the role of the United Nations Secretary-General in relation to the Ottawa Convention in collaboration with UNMAS and other entities of the organisation? (A) The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA); (B) The Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO); (C) The Department for Disarmament Affairs (DDA); (D) None of the above. 10. How does the mandate to provide food assistance keep the World Food Programme (WFP) involved in mine action? (A) Clearance of land required for the safe return of displaced populations; (B) Clearance of access roads for the speedy and cost-effective delivery of food assistance; (C) Clearance of crop land for agricultural use in order to promote sustainable levels of local food production; (D) All of the above.